Chichester Bernstein celebrations continue

The University of Chichester hosts Total Embrace: A Day of Bernstein and Music as part of the 2018 Bernstein in Chichester festival.

The event will be at the Bishop Otter Campus on Saturday, April 21. Tickets are free, but advance registration is recommended as space is limited. Contact Laura Ritchie for further information: l.ritchie@chi.ac.uk

Professor Ritchie said: “The music department’s Total Embrace Day embodies our commitment to education and our mission as a university to inspire and enable people to exceed their expectations.

“Everything about this day says learn, love, sing, play and share the music, which is very much in line with Bernstein’s ethos and teaching. Everyone is welcome to join us and we promise a fascinating afternoon.”

The half-day programme of workshops, seminars and performances starts at midday and finishes at about 4.30pm. The title of the event comes from Leonard Bernstein’s comment: “Life without music is unthinkable. Music without life is academic. That is why my contact with music is a total embrace.”

Leonard Bernstein’s son Alexander, who is planning a return visit to Chichester in November, has shot a special video for the event, in which he observes: “My father would have been overjoyed with all aspects of it. Masters students as leaders, community involvement, the music itself and crucially education.”

The day begins with a panel discussion addressing the question: Music Education Today, What Would Lenny Say? Then students, educators, music lovers, musicians and dancers will come together to experience and explore Bernstein’s educational philosophy and music in a series of workshops and performances. These will include a presentation by MA music performance students, a community choral session, performances by jazz musicians who will ‘remix’ Bernstein’s music, a performance of his Variations on an Octatonic Scale for recorder and cello, and a collaboration between students from the dance department and local primary school children. The afternoon culminates with a numbers from the university’s recent touring production of On the Town.

Bernstein in Chichester co-organiser Emma-Jane Wyatt said: “Leonard Bernstein’s understanding of the transformative power of music is legendary.”